Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Linguine with White Clam Sauce


What you'll need:

1# Linguine, cooked Al Dente

1-51 oz. Can of chopped clams, drained & liquid reserved.
or roughly 5 doz. Fresh little neck clams in the shells scrubbed well.

6 cloves garlic, sliced thin
1 Lg. Shallot or a small red onion, diced fine
1/2 bunch flat leaf parsley or 1/4 c. Dried
8 T. EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) + 3 T Butter
Salt & pepper to taste salt only after tasting!
1 C. dry white wine (whatever kind you like to drink) or you can use chicken stock if you prefer.
1/2 tsp. chili flakes
1/2 tsp. Dried thyme or 3 or sprigs fresh stripped from it's stems
4 Anchovies fillets, smashed 
4 or 5 sun dried tomato's diced fine or fresh grape tomato's diced
1/2 roasted red pepper, diced (if you have it)
1/2 cup of clam juice
1 T. Fresh squeezed lemon juice

Will serve 4 to 6

In a large pot, bring 4 qts. Well salted water to a boil for the pasta.
Put the pasta in & start your sauce NOW.

In a large skillet or saute pan, heat the EVOO & butter till it's hot, add:

Shallots & garlic cook 2 minutes till slightly soft. 
Then add the anchovies and stir till anchovies break down & blend into the oil. 
Add chili flakes, thyme,tomato's & roasted peppers (if you're using them) saute 2 or 3 minutes. 
Add the clams and saute about 2 or 3 minutes. Add the wine or stock and the lemon, stir till it starts to bubble, now add your Al Dente pasta & toss to cover well and continue cooking about 3 minutes to let the wine cook out.
( I take my pasta directly from the hot water with a pasta spoon/spaghetti server and put it in the hot bubbly sauce & toss.)
The starch from the pasta pulls the sauce together and thickens it a bit.

Serve hot with crusty bread & a green salad or a nice green veggie!

Husband approved ;-)

MMÑ



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